Indian steel mills continued restocking imported ferrous scrap, aided by persisting demand in the auto sector. Many mills booked substantial volumes in containers early in the week and chose to stay away from the market subsequently. Some buyers are still resisting current price levels amid global uncertainty. An economic push by the country’s government and easing transport restrictions could boost deals in the coming days.
The Davis Index for containerized shredded on Friday settled at $321.33/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $0.79/mt from Thursday and by $3.83/mt from last Friday. Trades for shredded were at $320-322/mt cfr Nhava Sheva and $330/mt cfr Chennai. A stainless steelmaker in Vizag also bought 2500mt of containerized shredded at prices equivalent to $325/mt cfr Vizag.
Many buyers in North India are still facing financial problems, regulation issues, and scarcity of containers, which kept them away from the market.
Indian currency depreciated to Rs74.48 on Friday against $1 from Rs73.67 last week. The depreciation has dampened buying interest for a few mills.
The Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from UAE, Friday, reached a six-week high at $311/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $1/mt from Thursday, with few trades reported at the index price. Trades for containerized #1 HMS (without cast and galvanized iron) from Dubai were in the range of $310-315/mt cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday.
The Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by $6.43/mt from a week earlier to $311.43/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. Suppliers are offering bulk cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320-325/mt cfr Kandla, but only a few buyers accepted this price level.
South African suppliers were offering HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $310/mt cfr Nhava Sheva. A few containers for UK-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were sold at $305/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, at prices up by $10/mt from the prior week while #1 HMS traded at $310/mt cfr Nhava Sheva.
Turning scrap traded in limited volume, still, prices increased amid an uptick in HMS prices. The weekly index for Turning scrap was at $285/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, up by $3/mt,with trades at $290-292/mt cfr Chennai and Vizag. Busheling traded at $335-340/mt cfr Nhava Sheva against bids of $330/mt cfr Nhava Sheva, while P&S scrap traded at $325-330/mt cfr Nhava Sheva in thin quantities.
In Turkey, the daily Davis Index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was at $293/mt cfr on Thursday, up by $0.21/mt driven by new import bookings of Baltic-origin material. This has also led to exporters increasing asking prices in India. Indian traders, however, believe bookings could slow in the second week of November due to the Diwali festival. On the commodity market, bullishness of metals indicated positive sentiment for the sector. Supply from countries like the US, UK is expected to tighten in November as December, a usual phenomenon during winter months.
In the export market, Indian mills offered billets at $450-455/mt cfr Southeast Asia, but there were limited buyers in the market. China’s appetite for domestic billet has increased and thus mills were unwilling to import billets, also affecting Indian exports.
Chinese steel prices were supported by sustained demand and optimism about the next five-year plan (2021-2025).
Subcontinent
Improved trades and restocking activities resulted in subcontinent indexes moving up. The Davis Index for containerized shredded, Friday, settled at $320.5/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $0.56/mt from Thursday and $5/mt from a week earlier. The Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $308.71/mt cfr India subcontinent, up by $0.74/mt from Thursday.
($1=Rs74.48)